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The BYU Cougars take on the Santa Clara Broncos. Check out our college basketball odds series for our BYU Santa Clara prediction and pick. Find out how to watch BYU Santa Clara.
The BYU Cougars and Santa Clara Broncos can both relate to what they have endured this college basketball season. Both teams led Gonzaga late in regulation at home and let the Zags slip away. Those narrow losses to Gonzaga were crushers for both teams. BYU and Santa Clara needed that kind of high-end win in order to make a serious run at the NCAA Tournament. Both teams need all the leverage and all the wins they can get in order to make a push for an NCAA bid, but after failing to beat Gonzaga at home, their shared margin for error is essentially zero. This is a game for third place in the WCC standings. The winner will be third behind Gonzaga and Saint Mary's, the two best teams in the conference and the schools which have ruled WCC basketball for most of the 21st century. It's a very important game, and the loser will almost certainly have to win the WCC Tournament in early March to make the NCAA Tournament.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the BYU-Santa Clara College Basketball odds:
College Basketball Odds: BYU-Santa Clara Odds
BYU Cougars: +2.5 (-110)
Santa Clara Broncos: -2.5 (-110)
Over: 146.5 (-105)
Under: 146.5 (-115)
How To Watch BYU vs. Santa Clara
TV: CBS Sports Network
Stream: CBSSports.com
Time: 11:00 p.m. ET, 8:00 p.m. PT
*Watch BYU-Santa Clara LIVE with fuboTV (Click for free trial)*
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Why BYU Could Cover the Spread
This BYU team looked awful in the first few weeks of its season, losing at home to South Dakota and Utah Valley. It seemed that BYU's season was going to be a total disaster. However, BYU then picked itself off the canvas and started battling back. The Cougars beat Creighton in a very impressive effort. They beat Utah to win the in-state rivalry game they care a lot about. BYU built itself to a point where it had Gonzaga on the ropes. Yes, BYU let that game slip away, but it remains that this team has undergone significant growth and improvement over the past five weeks. Coach Mark Pope has developed players and prevented BYU from stagnating or regressing.
Santa Clara is a tough team at home, but the Broncos couldn't finish off wins against Gonzaga and also Saint Mary's. BYU can stay close and then beat the Broncos in crunch time.
Why Santa Clara Could Cover the Spread
The Broncos are formidable at home. They almost beat Gonzaga and Saint Mary's. Both teams did not have an easy time when visiting Santa Clara. The Broncos beat San Francisco by 12. This team can play, and it regularly gets up for big home games in the WCC. This certainly rates as one of them.
The other thing to point out here is that BYU hasn't played as tough a WCC schedule as Santa Clara has. Santa Clara has already played Saint Mary's and San Francisco in addition to Gonzaga. BYU has played Gonzaga but hasn't yet faced SMC or San Francisco. Santa Clara has actually done more in the WCC than BYU has to this point in time. That matters when evaluating these teams.
Final BYU-Santa Clara Prediction & Pick
Stay away from this game. Santa Clara is probably the better pick, but the Broncos are not a fully trustworthy team, and it's better to just sit this one out or at least wait for a live-bet opportunity.
Final BYU-Santa Clara Prediction & Pick: Santa Clara -2.5
